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"&lt;div id=\"attachment_328089\" style=\"width: 609px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"wp-image-328089 size-full\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2015/08/cats-galore04-e1440608914811.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2015/08/cats-galore04-e1440608914811.jpg 599w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2015/08/cats-galore04-e1440608914811-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 599px) 100vw, 599px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;Susan Herbert. Photo: courtesy of the artist/ Thames &amp;amp; Hudson.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;&amp;#8220;The smallest feline is a masterpiece,&amp;#8221; wrote &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/leonardo+da+vinci/past-auction-results\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Leonardo da Vinci&lt;/a&gt;, whose drawing &lt;em&gt;Study of Cat Movements and Positions&lt;/em&gt; testifies to his admiration for the animal&amp;#8217;s flexibility; &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/thomas-gainsborough/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Thomas Gainsborough&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8216;s and &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/paul-gauguin/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Paul Gauguin&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8216;s cat studies were very similar to da Vinci&amp;#8217;s.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Cats have proliferated in art over the centuries. They became particularly popular as the cuddly familiars of females in paintings by Victorian artists and French Impressionists.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The cat painted by &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/%C3%A9douard-manet/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Edouard Manet&lt;/a&gt; in the lap of his eight-year-old niece Julie (the daughter of &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/berthe-morisot/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Berthe Morisot&lt;/a&gt;, herself a future artist) in 1887 may be the most content in art history. Less reassuring is the black cat\u2014symbol of prostitution\u2014perched on the end of the naked woman&amp;#8217;s bed in Manet&amp;#8217;s &lt;em&gt;Olympia&lt;/em&gt;, which scandalized Paris when it was shown at the 1865 Salon.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;As the art and literature scholar Bram Dijkstra has observed, cats and female sexuality became sinisterly symbiotic in a strain of misogynistic fin de si\u00E8cle art prompted by male fears and inadequacies. The thinly veiled symbolism of paintings by &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/charles+h.-chaplin/past-auction-results\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Charles J. Chaplin&lt;/a&gt;, Franz von Lembach, &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/hans-makart/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Hans Makart&lt;/a&gt;, and others inferred that women are not only insatiable but prone to bestiality.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Comparatively benign are the fighting cats painted by &lt;a href=\"https://www.artnet.com/artists/francisco+de-goya/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Goya&lt;/a&gt; and&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/john+james-audubon/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt; John James Audubon&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/pablo-picasso/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Picasso&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8216;s&lt;em&gt; Cat Catching a Bird&lt;/em&gt;,\u00A0&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-crumb/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Robert Crumb&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8216;s rutting &lt;em&gt;Fritz the Cat&lt;/em&gt;, and the colorful subjects of &lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/andy-warhol/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Andy Warhol&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#8216;s privately printed 1954 book\u00A0&lt;em&gt;25 Cats Named Sam and One Blue Pussy&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The list that follows is not a canonical Top 10 of cat paintings, but a tribute to feline diversity in art.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13441\" style=\"width: 575px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13441\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Bosch.jpg\" alt=\"Hieronymous Bosch, &amp;quot;The Temptation of St. Anthony&amp;quot; (right panel), c. 1501 \" width=\"565\" height=\"393\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Bosch.jpg 565w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Bosch-300x209.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 565px) 100vw, 565px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/hieronymus-bosch/past-auction-results\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Hieronymous Bosch&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;The Temptation of St. Anthony&lt;/em&gt; (right panel) (circa 1501).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;In the wilderness, a cat hisses at the woman who&amp;#8217;s trying to tempt the hermit Anthony, father of monasticism, with her naked body. The fish symbolized Christianity, but the cat&amp;#8217;s demonic ears render it ambiguous.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13447\" style=\"width: 774px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13447\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Ribot.jpg\" alt=\"Th\u00E9odule-Augustin Ribot, &amp;quot;The Cook and the Cat,&amp;quot; 1860s\" width=\"764\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Ribot.jpg 764w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Ribot-229x300.jpg 229w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/th%C3%A9odule-ribot/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Th\u00E9odule-Augustin Ribot&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;The Cook and the Cat&lt;/em&gt; (1860s).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Another fish, another hungry cat. The French realist Ribot made his name painting humble kitchen scenes, of which this is the most famous. Is the cook oblivious to his four-legged friend, or is he turning a blind eye?&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13449\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13449\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Wain.jpg\" alt=\"Louis Wain, anthropomorphic cat paintings\" width=\"390\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Wain.jpg 390w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Wain-208x300.jpg 208w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 390px) 100vw, 390px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;Louis Wain, anthropomorphic cat paintings.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;A popular London commercial artist obsessed with cats, Wain was permanently hospitalized for mental illness in 1924. That his paintings became increasingly hallucinatory and abstract has been attributed to worsening schizophrenia.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13443\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13443\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Koons.jpg\" alt=\"Jeff Koons, &amp;quot;Cat on a Clothesline,&amp;quot; 1994-2001\" width=\"600\" height=\"795\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Koons.jpg 600w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Koons-226x300.jpg 226w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/jeff-koons/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Jeff Koons&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Cat on a Clothesline&lt;/em&gt; (1994\u20132001).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Inspired by postcards of kittens suspended in socks, Koons sculpted his outsized polyethylene puss for his &amp;#8220;Celebration&amp;#8221; series. It was structured as a crucifixion to combine spirituality with preschool joyousness.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13445\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13445\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Rackham.jpg\" alt=\"Arthur Rackham, &amp;quot;By day she made herself into a cat,&amp;quot; 1920        \" width=\"800\" height=\"1267\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Rackham.jpg 800w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Rackham-189x300.jpg 189w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Rackham-647x1024.jpg 647w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/arthur-rackham/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Arthur Rackham,&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;By day she made herself into a cat&lt;/em&gt; (1920).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This malevolent &amp;#8220;she&amp;#8221; is a shape-shifting witch who turns virgins into birds and cages them. Rackham&amp;#8217;s illustration for &amp;#8220;Jorinde and Joringel&amp;#8221; in\u00A0&lt;em&gt;Hansel and Gretel and Other Tales by the Brothers Grimm\u00A0&lt;/em&gt;demonstrates his brilliant use of anthropomorphism to capture pathological states of mind.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13442\" style=\"width: 278px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13442\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Gober.jpg\" alt=\"Robert Gober, &amp;quot;Untitled, 1989&amp;quot;\" width=\"268\" height=\"340\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Gober.jpg 268w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Gober-236x300.jpg 236w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 268px) 100vw, 268px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/robert-gober/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Robert Gober&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Untitled&lt;/em&gt; (1989).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Gober&amp;#8217;s angry metaphorical sculpture consists of two bags of cat litter and an empty wedding dress standing in a room decorated with wallpaper. Its repeated motifs are a sleeping white man and a lynched black man. The litter signifies America&amp;#8217;s attempt to deodorize a history founded on racism and the fallacy of white heterosexual purity.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13444\" style=\"width: 634px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13444\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Larsson.jpg\" alt=\"Carl Larsson, &amp;quot;The Bridge,&amp;quot; 1912\" width=\"624\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Larsson.jpg 624w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Larsson-300x215.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/carl+olof-larsson/past-auction-results\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Carl Olof Larsson&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;em&gt; The Bridge &lt;/em&gt;(1912).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;The focal point of the Swedish artist&amp;#8217;s mysterious watercolor is the supple little cat, which peers, as does its mistress, at the male figure on the bridge. An invisible thread connects the cat&amp;#8217;s black coat to the dark head of the man; one expects the cat to tug it, drawing the man&amp;#8217;s attention to the woman who had, perhaps, sat down to paint the bridge in solitude.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13440\" style=\"width: 360px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13440\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Baselitz.jpg\" alt=\"Georg Baselitz, &amp;quot;Cat Head,&amp;quot; 1966-67\" width=\"350\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Baselitz.jpg 350w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Baselitz-240x300.jpg 240w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/georg-baselitz/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Georg Baselitz&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Cat Head&lt;/em&gt; (1966\u201367).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Baselitz&amp;#8217;s brutish humanoid cat dominates a smaller dog, from which it is separated by a fence. This typical inversion by the figurative expressionist-cum-postmodernist painter is both a commentary on ruined post-Nazi Germany and conflicting artistic movements within the divided country.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13448\" style=\"width: 598px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13448\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/von-Dongen.jpg\" alt=\"Kees von Dongen, &amp;quot;Woman With Cat,&amp;quot; 1908\" width=\"588\" height=\"766\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/von-Dongen.jpg 588w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/von-Dongen-230x300.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 588px) 100vw, 588px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"https://www.artnet.com/artists/kees+van-dongen/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Kees von Dongen&lt;/a&gt;,&lt;em&gt; Woman With Cat&lt;/em&gt; (1908).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;This painting by the Dutch Fauvist is distinguished by its juxtaposing of delicate colors, its serenity, and its wit. The position in which the woman tenderly holds the cat renders her almost androgynous. The bow-like curve of the cat&amp;#8217;s tail, its long body, and the woman&amp;#8217;s headpiece harmonizes all the elements.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;div id=\"attachment_13446\" style=\"width: 409px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"&gt;&lt;img class=\"size-full wp-image-13446\" src=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Renoir.jpg\" alt=\"Pierre-Auguste Renoir, &amp;quot;Girl and Cat,&amp;quot; 1880-81\" width=\"399\" height=\"506\" srcset=\"https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Renoir.jpg 399w, https://news.artnet.com/app/news-upload/2014/05/Renoir-237x300.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" /&gt;&lt;p class=\"wp-caption-text\"&gt;&lt;a href=\"http://www.artnet.com/artists/pierre-auguste-renoir/\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;Pierre-Auguste Renoir&lt;/a&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Girl and Cat&lt;/em&gt; (1880\u201381).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Most of Renoir&amp;#8217;s paintings featuring females and felines are supine, like those of Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt. This one is the most vital. Something in the flowers has made the cat rear, mildly alerting the girl to its erect posture. The balance between indifference and inquisitiveness is perfectly weighted.&lt;/p&gt;\n&lt;em&gt;Follow &lt;a href=\"http://facebook.com/artnetnews\" target=\"_blank\"&gt;artnet News&lt;/a&gt; on Facebook.&lt;/em&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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